Many “big-ticket promises” made before the last general election have yet to materialise, the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) has said.
The group published its 2026 Report Card on Tuesday, ranking the Government’s efforts last year in areas that affect children and young people.
The most frequent grade given was a C, while the Government received “a low D grade” on issues such as social housing, homelessness and accommodation for people seeking international protection.
CRA chief executive Tanya Ward said many of the promises made before the general election in November 2024 had yet to be fulfilled.
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“The big-ticket promises we heard throughout the election cycle and the Government’s first year in office, like reducing the cost of childcare, tackling the housing and homelessness crisis and improving access to healthcare services have yet to materialise,” she said.
Noting the Programme for Government was published by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents in January last year, Ward said the report “shows a difficult road ahead for the Government if the pace of change stays the same”.
On the Government’s record on housing, Ward said: “The pace at which child and family homelessness is increasing when matched against the pace of building social housing is a major concern.”
The number of homeless people in the State topped a record 17,000 last month, including more than 5,300 children, figures from the Department of Housing showed.
Just over 9,000 social homes were built in the State last year, despite an original target of 10,000. This target has since been revised upwards to an average of 12,000 social homes a year by 2030.
“If the Government is already behind on its target year one, it does not instil confidence that they will meet this target in years to come,” Ward said.
The CRA estimates that around 55,000 families with children are in need of social housing.
Naomi Feely, policy director at the CRA, said it was “no surprise” the Government received four D grades and two C grades in relation to housing and homelessness.
Speaking at a webinar launching the report on Tuesday, Feely said: “We’ve really seen an entrenchment of the problem of child and family homelessness.”
Feely explained that D grades in particular were given “where we really feel the Government is not taking sufficient steps in order to realise the ambitions they set out in the Programme for Government”.
The Government also received a number of C and D grades in relation to mental health services. The report noted that waiting lists for Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS) were “at an all-time high, at 4,433 children” last December.
The Government was awarded a C grade for efforts to better resource CAMHS and reduce waiting lists.
The CRA report said the north Kerry CAMHS scandal - where more than 200 children were found to at risk of potential harm - showed it was essential the Government “makes progress to regulate CAMHS and ensure standards are implemented that protect children and young people especially at crisis moments but also throughout their engagement with mental health services”.
Jack Kirby, a member of the National Youth Council of Ireland, told the launch waiting lists were “the biggest barrier” to people accessing mental health services.
Kirby said, by the time they reach out, a young person may already be at “a critical point” only to be put on a waiting list for months or years.
“Imagine how like disheartening and frustrating that must feel because they’ve plucked up the courage to speak up and say that they need help,” he said.
“CAMHS waiting lists can be up to four years, and I think there needs to be support for young people in the meantime.”
The CRA report was also critical of the standard of accommodation being offered to families seeking international protection. Ward said some children were “living in unthinkable conditions in emergency accommodation centres that are not subject to Hiqa inspections”.
The Government received better feedback in areas such as senior cycle reform in second level schools (C+) and capital investment in State-led childcare facilities (C).
The top grade, a B-, was given for efforts to improve cooperation between State agencies working in child protection.
